Masquerade
by Dragonsong2795
Summary: A short story of sorrow, a masked girl slays a monster and earns her greatest reward. One-shot Tragic and some-what Graphic, if either are not your style. Don't Read


_I was feeling kind of gloomy when I wrote this, so fair warning. It's very tragic._

* * *

_**Masquerade**_

**One-Shot**

_'Wearing a Mask, donning a Persona, becoming a Shadow,_

_What cruel monsters have we become,_

_To forge a weapon our opponents cannot overcome,_

_We took the innocence of a child,_

_And left only the shattered remnants, scared and bewildered._

_Trapped behind that cold, heartless, porcelain mask,_

_Who is the child trapped within?_

_What happened to the once joyous child?_

_What happened to the little girl in the yellow dress?_

_What happened to poor, little Hope?_

_That all she is now,_

_Is a Masquerade?'_

* * *

_**A Inscription inscribed upon the Konohagakure no Sato Memorial stone**_

_**It is inscribed over the names of those who perished in the Kyūbi's attack.**_

_**Author – Unknown **_

_**But is believed to be either Kakashi Hatake or Jiraiya of the Sannin**_

* * *

_-Masquerade-_

Orochimaru, the traitor Sannin.

Someone considered to be beyond powerful and fearless.

His subordinates think him a Monster, his enemies a Demon and his former comrades a Traitor.

Right now though, he is terrified.

On the floor of his office he lay bleeding, standing above his damaged body is his assailant, his right hand, Kabuto, is next to the door.

Normally Orochimaru would have had him help deal with this attacker, but…

Kabuto would have trouble doing so.

Especially since his throat has been slit from behind so viciously that his spinal column was visible in the gaping gash.

Orochimaru wasn't much better off, especially as his actual right hand, and the arm it is attached to, is sitting on his desk… three feet from his body.

His intestines are pooled around the remnants of his abdomen, his lungs have gashes on them and his heart is slowly but surely collapsing as blood flows out of the two slits sliced on the bottom, one on each side of his heart.

Orochimaru's left eye is gone, but his right shows only horror and fear.

For standing above him, with a bloodied Katana in hand… is a young woman of barely twelve.

Although, that is only conjecture.

The young woman is dressed in a Shinobi Battle Dress Uniform, although it has dozens of gaping holes in it and is covered with large patches of dried blood. In the holes of the uniform, extensive scarring can be seen. This girl has seen hell.

Orochimaru wished he could see her eyes, for once he could he would be able to use them as a channel for his consciousness and soul to enter her body.

But, the young woman is wearing a mask.

One that chills Orochimaru to the bone, even battle hardened as he is.

For it has no visible eye-holes or mouth holes.

It is a perfectly oval mask made of porcelain and Chakra resistant ceramics.

The only thing visible on it's surface is the drawing of four tears, coming from where the eyes would be under the mask.

It was terrifying simply because it was so emotionless, nothing could be seen of the face behind the mask.

Orochimaru wondered how this could be, he'd been so joyous after he'd slain his former Sensei, he'd let his guard down and this… this… ghost had come after him.

Orochimaru did not have another thought pass his mind, as the young girl had decided to simply execute him then and there.

She then fell to her knees, a blood stain spreading from where Orochimaru had got a lucky shot in.

The girl's last thoughts were filled with joy '_I did it Jiji, now I get to see mommy and daddy. I was a good girl, I was…'_

The Shinigami soon appeared above the motionless body, despite it's horrific appearance and it's duty. It felt sorrow, it felt sorrow for the poor human lying motionless on the floor.

Soon it turned to the right and a pool of red energy appeared.

It soon formed into a fox, one with nine tails.

The Kyūbi.

The Kyūbi and the Shinigami did not exchange a single word.

The Shinigami collected the still body of the young girl and disappeared to a distant island.

The Kyūbi went on a bee-line straight to Konoha.

Only the Memorial Stone, those below thirteen years of age and a few of the elder Shinobi survived the attack.

On a distant and thought abandoned island the Shinigami reappeared.

Soon the people of the island, sensing the divine being appeared.

They quickly started to sob and cry for the young woman whose body lay in the Shinigami's arms.

The Shinigami said nothing, it went to the cemetery of that island and laid the body to rest in a grave it created with but a thought.

It placed a simple headstone on the grave with the young woman's mask fused into it.

It simply said

* * *

_Here lies_

_Uzumaki Nozomi_

_The Hope that was destroyed._

_The daughter of_

_Uzumaki Kushina_

_Namikaze Minato_

_May she find peace with her ancestors_

_For in her twelve years of life, she had only hell_

* * *

The most poignant and saddening thing about the grave, was the fact that on either side of it lay the parents of the young woman… no, the young girl.

The surviving Uzumaki all bowed their heads in grief.

They knew not this young girl, but from reading the grave, they had a measure of peace.

For they knew…

That in death she finally had what she lacked in life.

Her parent's love.

* * *

_I feel sad writing this, but it just came to me and I had to write it, the story had to be told!_

_I was inspired to write this while reading EDelta88's 'Wrath of a Woman Scorned'_

_Lastly Nozomi means 'Hope' for anyone who was wondering._

_dragonsong2795_


End file.
